


The Exchange Program

by MarWrites



Category: Ever After High, Ever After High Series - Shannon Hale, Monster High
Genre: Canon-Typical Puns, Crossover, Ensemble Cast, Exchange Program, F/F, Multi, Puns & Word Play, Self-Acceptance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28684146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarWrites/pseuds/MarWrites
Summary: As an unofficial school counselor, Cupid knew almost every secret, scandal, and seduction that happened within the walls of Ever After High. Over and over, time and time again, Cupid saw her friends feel the exact same thing: shame.The students at Ever After High were ashamed to be different.And every single one of them thought they were the only one who felt that way.No matter how many assurances Cupid gave, or how many people she soothed through difficult moments, she just couldn’t fix a problem so big.But she knew one place that could.
Relationships: C.A. Cupid & Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura/Clawdeen Wolf, Kitty Cheshire/Cedar Wood, Raven Queen/Apple White
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	The Exchange Program

C.A. Cupid had had enough.

She loved being the ghoul- sorry,  _ girl _ \- that all of her Fairy Tale friends felt safe going to. She had really found her calling as being the kind ear and soft word that helped other students in matters of love and life. As an unofficial school counselor, Cupid knew almost every secret, scandal, and seduction that happened within the walls of Ever After High. Over and over, time and time again, Cupid saw her friends feel the exact same thing: shame. 

The students at Ever After High were ashamed to be different. 

And every single one of them thought they were the only one who felt that way. 

No matter how many assurances Cupid gave, or how many people she soothed through difficult moments, she just couldn’t fix a problem so big. 

But she knew one place that could. 

This is what brought Cupid to stand in the office of the Headmasters Grimm. The older Grimm, Milton, stared down at her, silhouetted by the large window behind him. The younger Grimm, Giles, sat to the side, a cunning smile on his face. She knew he had won him over. Now for the other brother…

“You want us to do  _ what?”  _ he boomed. 

“An exchange program!” Cupid held her ground. “Other schools do it, and we could too!”

“And where would you propose we exchange students with? Wonderland High? Ogretown Academy?” 

Here was the tricky bit. “Actually,” Cupid fiddled with her skirt. “I was thinking of going a little… further. I think we should do an exchange program with my old school. Monster High.” 

In a land far, far away, another student was having a similar conversation with another head of school. 

“Please, Headmistress Bloodgood! I can’t believe the things Cupid told me about. They need to learn the Monster High spirit. And besides…” Clawdeen put on her best puppy dog eyes. “It would be deaducational…” 

Headmistress Bloodgood sighed. “We do already have a strong exchange program in place, so all of the framework is there to add one more school…” 

She frowned. “Very well.” Clawdeen felt like cheering. “But I can’t make any promises! Nightmare,” her horse trotted over, “get me on the line with Headmaster Grimm.” 

“It would be such a great way to show students how to accept themselves, and, who knows, maybe a few would learn to accept their stories.” Cupid didn’t believe for a second that Monster Hight would convince anyone to accept what others told them to be, but the Headmaster didn’t need to know that. 

“I…” He sat down heavily. 

From the corner, Giles Grimm piped up. “You know, brother,” he said, “an exchange program  _ would  _ be educational. And besides,” his eyes glinted with mischief. “It would give you a chance to see Nora again…” 

Cupid had to bring a hand to her mouth to stop from giggling at the expression on the Headmaster’s face.  _ Somebody had a cru-ush… _

“You-” he was cut off when the phone rang. Headmaster Grimm scowled. “We will discuss this later. Get to class now.” From behind his brother, Giles Grimm winked. 

Cupid was almost out the door when Milton Grimm picked up the phone. 

“Why, Headmistress Bloodgood!” 

Cupid gasped, and the door slammed shut behind her.

“I think I got through to her, what about you?” 

“You won’t believe this,” Cupid giggled. “I think my Headmaster has a crush on your Headmistress!” 

Cupid could hear Clawdeen gasp from her phone. “No. Way. Deets, now. Actually, deets later. Headmistress Bloodgood is on the phone with Headmaster Grimm as we speak! I think this is actually happening!” 

Cupid was about to squeal when she saw Cerise and Cedar coming towards her from across the corridor. “Clawdeen, I have to go. We’ll talk later! I’m so excited!” Cupid hung up and rushed to her friends. 

“Cerise, Cedar!” 

“Hey, C. What’s up?” Cerise’s hood was pulled even tighter over her ears than usual.

“Nothing is concrete yet, but… have I ever told you about my old school?” 

Cedar shook her head. “Where did you go, anyway? Is there a special school for mythology kids?”

“Actually, it was for all kinds of students. Specifically, it was a school for monsters.” 

From behind Cupid came a gasp. “Monsters?” Cupid turned to see Holly and Poppy. “You mean like vampires?”

Cupid nodded, and Poppy frowned. “I thought those were just stories.”

“Silly!” Cedar leaned over to poke her. “ _ We’re  _ stories.”

Holly ruffled a perfect brow. “That’s… strange. Shouldn’t different kinds of monsters go to different schools? Like, one for vampires, one for werewolves…” 

Cupid shook her head. “Well, there are different schools like that, but not where I’m from! Everyone is welcome at Monster High!” 

When she’d first heard those words, Cupid didn’t believe them. She even thought they were a little corny. It was only after seeing that statement proven over and over again that she truly believed it, and now she was proud of how easily she was able to say it. 

“So, back on topic,” Cerise interjected. “What about Monster High?”

“Well, I just asked Headmasters Grimm if we could do an exchange program!” 

“Ooh, an exchange program!” Maddie squealed, suddenly appearing next to the little group, Raven at her side. “That sounds absolutely hat-tacular! Like the time we went to Wonderland High! Only, we were almost trapped there forever. Would it be like that, Cupid? Cause I don’t think I want to do that again.”

Cupid laughed. “No, of course not! Think of it like a… cultural exchange.”

“What do you mean?” Raven asked. Cupid sighed. 

“When I first came to Ever After High, I was really… surprised. Things are different at Monster High. There’s the obvious ways, of course, like the classes and the students, but the biggest difference, and the thing I miss most, is the way that at Monster High, everyone was accepted for who they were. No matter who your parents were or where you came from, everybody at Monster High was, well, equal. I love Ever After High, I do, but it seems like no one here really knows what it’s like to be somewhere where you’re accepted and safe. I want to give everyone that chance.”

Everyone was silent. “Wow, Cupid,” Raven said quietly. “That sounds… amazing! We have to convince Headmaster Grimm to let us do it!”

The doors to the Headmasters’ office banged open. Milton scanned the crowd of students until he landed on Cupid. 

“Miss Cupid,” he gestured for her to come near. “A word in my office, if you please. 

Giles Grimm peeked out from behind him and gave a thumbs up. 

Cupid squealed and ran towards the office. “Headmaster Grimm, this will be just the ghoulest! I promise, you won’t regret it!” She stopped herself just before she hugged him. 

“Hmm, yes. Well, it will take some time to work out the details. Until then, I’m assigning you with finding students interested in going. We’ve decided to start with only sending our students to Monster High, as they are already equipped to handle exchange students, and we will need longer to decide on accomodations and the like. Can you handle that?”

Cupid smushed her lips together to keep from screaming and nodded her head quickly. 

“Very well,” Headmaster Milton Grimm said. His lips turned up in a rare smile. “I will let Headmistress Bloodgood know.”

One month later, Cupid stood beside her friends, all of them dragging far too many suitcases and a nervous excitement. They were waiting for the portal to Olympus to open, which they would pass through to reach the portal to Monster High. 

“Are you ready?” Cupid looked around to see her friends nodding. Apple held Raven’s hand tightly. Maddie, beside them, was drinking tea. Poppy was fiddling with her sister’s hair, while Daring Charming fixed his own in a mirror. Darling and Dexter stood next to their brother, laughing at something Briar had said. Hunter and Ella stood hand in hand (Cupid grinned. She was especially proud of those two), as did Kitty and Cedar (another win in Cupid’s record). Cerise stood silently to the side, hood pulled down to her eyes. Just when Cupid was about to try to comfort the girl, the portal opened. “Well, everyone,” Cupid took a deep breath. “Let’s go to Monster High!”

At Monster High, Draculaura was in an absolute tizzy. 

“Oh, do the decorations look alright? What if they get offended? I don’t know how to welcome fairy tales!” she cried. 

Clawdeen rolled her eyes fondly. “Hey,” she grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “Look, we just need to do what Monster High does best, and that is welcome everyone.”

“Clawdeen!” Draculaura looked up at her with big, shining eyes. “You’re the best!” Just when Clawdeen was sure her heart was about to explode, Frankie rushed in to save her. 

“They’re here!” 

“Places, everyone!” Cleo sang.

Clawdeen and Draculaura grinned at each other, then rushed to their places in the cheer formation. They wanted to give the Ever After High students an extra clawsome welcome, so Cleo had put together a simpler routine, and they recruited all of the students they could. Scarah, Gigi, Heath, Operetta, Robecca, and even Clawd had joined in. Clawdeen figured that the usual cheer uniforms might kill the whole ‘be yourself’ point they were trying to make, so everyone wore their own outfits to let their unique personalities shine through. Clawdeen had stopped Heath from wearing a speedo, though. 

The great doors began to open, and… 

“Music!”

Grey fog spilled in from the outside as the beat began to play. They went through their routine, which Clawdeen knew like the back of her paw. She did have to shout over Clawd, who was not as familiar with the words, a few times, but in all, but the time they all shouted “WELCOME TO MONSTER HIGH!” and took their final poses, she was feeling pretty satisfied. 

The new students broke out into applause, Cupid leading them. Clawdeen rushed over the greet her friend. 

“Cupid!” Clawdeen laughed and drew her into a hug. “It is so good to see you!”

“You too!” Cupid grinned. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!”

“You better believe it! So,” she backed up and looked at the rest of Cupid’s group. They looked impressed, if a little wary. “Welcome to Monster High! ...again. I’m Clawdeen, and this,” her ghoulfriends came forward, “is Frankie, Ghoulia, Laguna, Cleo, and Draculaura! We’re all here to help you feel welcome and show you the Monster High spirit!”

“We are so excited to be here!” a blonde girl in a red dress smiled. “I’m Apple White, daughter of Snow White, and this is Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen,” a girl with black and purple hair waved sheepishly, “Maddie Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter,” the girl next to her giggled, “Poppy and Holly O’Hair, daughters of Rapunzel, Daring, Darling, and Dexter, children of King Charming, Briar Rose, daughter of Sleeping Beauty, Hunter Huntsman, son of, well, The Huntsman, Ashlyn Ella, daughter of Cinderella, Kitty, daughter of the Cheshire Cat, Cedar Wood, daughter of Pinnocchio, and Cerise Hood, daughter of Little Red Riding Hood! Thank you so much for having us!” 

“Did you get all that?” Clawdeen muttered to Draculaura, who shook her head minutely, still smiling.

“We are very glad to have you here. You are welcome at Monster High!” Headmistress Bloodgood trotted over on Nightmare, head in her arm. A few of the fairy tale students paled. One girl gasped. 

“I am Nora Bloodgood, Headmistress of Monster High.” She popped her head back on and swung down from Nightmare’s back to shake all of the exchange student’s hands. Clawdeen was sure that a few were about to pass out. 

“I would like to assure you,” Headmistress Bloodgood proclaimed, “that you are all safe and wanted here at Monster High.” Clawdeen cringed a little at the use of the word ‘wanted.’ “I encourage you all,” Headmistress Bloodgood continued, oblivious to her guests’ discomfort, “to use this as an opportunity to discover who you are, free of you parentage. While we recognize and honor our scaritage,”

“Heritage,” Cupid clarified for the new students. 

“None of that matters as much as the content of your scareachter and what you, yourself, have to bring to the table.” At this news, the girl who had introduced them all, Apple, looked like her head was going to explode. Clawdeen heard Draculaura stifle a giggle. 

“Now,” Headmistress Bloodgood said, hopping back onto Nightmare, “I am sure that you are all weary from your journey and eager to settle in. My students, please escort the exchange students to their chambers. Again, I welcome you all, and hope that you come to cherish your time here at Monster High.” With that, she rode off. 

“Well!” Frankie clapped her hands together. “Heath and Jackson,” they came forward, “why don’t you show the mansters-”

“Men,” Cupid translated. 

“Right, uh,  _ men  _ to their dorms. The rest of you, please come with us, and we’ll get you settled!” 

Clawdeen approached the girl holding the most luggage. Was she Briar? Or was this Ashlyn. “Want some help with that?” She took one of the suitcases. The girl smiled. “Thank you forever after!”

They began to walk, leading the way as the rest chatted behind them. 

“I’m sorry, what was your name again?” she asked. 

“Clawdeen. Clawdeen Wolf.” 

“Oh! Right. I’m Ashlyn Ella, daughter of-”

“Cinderella, right?” The girl smiled. “That’s cool. I’ve got to tell you, though, it’s okay to just say your name, instead of who your mother is. I care more about the real you.” The girl’s smile fell. Clawdeen panicked. 

“Um, not to say that your mom isn’t great, I’m sure she is! It’s just that- oh, sphynx. Um, you remember Frankie back there?” They looked back at Frankie, who was chatting animatedly with a girl with very big hair. “She’s the daughter of Frankenstein, but that’s not all that she is. Knowing that doesn’t tell you that she has a pet dog, or that she loves science.”

Ashlyn looked confused. “But what about status? What about knowing if someone’s royalty?”

Clawdeen laughed. “The only royalty around here is Cleo, but she would be a princess even if her father wasn’t the pharaoh. She takes care of that all by herself.”

“Did I hear someone talking about me?” Cleo looked up from where she was talking to a girl with cat ears. “That’s understandable. I am a great topic of conversation. That reminds me of when…” she turned back to the cat girl. 

Clawdeen giggled and looked at Ashlyn. “See?” The girl smiled hesitantly. They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Clawdeen set the suitcase back down on the wheels. “And here we are!” 

Clawdeen had been nervous about setting up a bunch of princesses to room in the dungeons, but that was before she realized that Cleo and Draculaura were going to decorate. They could turn a broom closet into a room fit for a queen. Clawdeen pushed open the doors, and the girls behind her let out appreciative gasps. The room was beautiful. The hard stone was softened by soft draperies hung from the ceiling to the walls and floating stars lighting the room in a soft glow. Comfortable lounge furniture created enough space for all of them to sit comfortably, and two mini fridges stocked with treats stood next to a ceramic sink. Six doors framed in fairy lights led from the main room; the girls would be rooming in sets of two. Unique charms hung from each doorknob. Cupid stepped forward.

“I hope you don’t mind I’ve taken the liberty of arranging the rooming situations! Apple, you’re with Raven, Kitty with Cedar, Poppy and Holly together, Briar with Ashlyn, Maddie with Darling, and Cerise, you’re with me!”

Clawdeen was sure that Cupid had planned those rooms very carefully, and she was willing to lay money down that Apple and Raven and Kitty and Cedar’s rooms would have one large bed in them each. If only Cupid could set her up in a room like that with- well, it didn’t matter. She passed the suitcase handle back to Ashlyn. “Well, it was really nice meeting you!” She smiled. 

“We’ll come get you for dinner in an hour,” Frankie said to the room. “See you all later!” With that, the monsters filed out. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, me from elementary school who kept her Monster High interest under shameful lock and key, look where we are now. As I so often do in times of derision, I rewatched Boo York, Haunted, and the Ever After High series on Netflix, and as I so often do after watching a movie or series, I looked for fanfiction of it! I couldn't quite find what I was looking for (big fandoms with tons of writers have made me entitled), so here we are.  
> I worry that people will find me cringe or corny for liking this stuff. Then I look back on what I think when I talk to other people who have definite opinions on the ranking of MH movies and I realize that I never think about them the way I worry other people will think about me. There's enough pain in life as it is. Adding to it by trying to keep myself 'cool' by ways of denying myself wholesome things I like is unnecessary suffering. So, uh, yeah! Free therapy moment with MarWrites. Go treat yourself to https://www.princessmovies.org/monster-high/list-of-all-monster-high-movies/


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